Ian James Duncan, Baron Duncan of Springbank (born 13 February 1973) is a Scottish politician serving as a
deputy speaker
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...
in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. A member of the
Conservative Party, he was formerly Minister for Climate Change in the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...
and minister in the
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...
. He initially joined the
UK Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. as a
Scotland Office minister following the
2017 UK general election. Duncan was a
Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
(MEP) for
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
from 2014 to 2017. He is the only minister to have served in each of the UK Government's territorial offices.
Early life
Duncan was born on 13 February 1973 and raised in
Alyth,
Perthshire
Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
, where he attended
Alyth High School. He achieved a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
(BSc) degree in geology from the
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
in 1994, and subsequently earned a
PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
degree in
paleontology
Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...
from the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
in 1997.
Career before politics
During the late 1990s Duncan served as a policy analyst for
BP's political affairs team, where he worked on the company's strategy for emerging economic prospects in post-communist eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
In 1999 Duncan became the deputy chief executive, and secretary for the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, where he developed policy and worked closely with the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, lobbying for the development of a regional management model that was later adopted by the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
.
From 2004 to 2005 he acted as the head of policy & communication for the
Scottish Refugee Council, a charity which offers advice to those taking asylum within Scotland.
Duncan served as Head of the EU Office for the Scottish Parliament in Brussels from 2005 and 2011. Thereafter he was appointed Clerk to the Parliament's European Committee and EU Advisor to the Parliament. He resigned from his position in 2013 to pursue candidacy for the upcoming European elections with the Scottish Conservatives, following
Struan Stevenson's announcement that he would not seek re-election.
Political career
Member of the European Parliament
As a candidate for the Scottish Conservatives at the
2014 European election,
Duncan campaigned on a platform of delivering reform in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
as well as an in-out referendum within three years.
Duncan sat on three
committees of the European Parliament
The committees of the European Parliament are designed to examine proposals in detail before the matter is dealt with by the full Parliament. They comprise Standing Committees and occasional Temporary Committees or Committees on Inquiry.
Each ...
: the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Fisheries. He was the European Parliament's
rapporteur
A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word.
For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...
on post-2020 reforms to the
European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.
From 2014 Duncan served as the chief whip of the UK Conservative delegation. He was also a vice-chair of the Wine, Spirits and Quality Foodstuffs intergroup in the European Parliament.
In 2017, Duncan was ranked as the 10th-most influential MEP on environmental policy in the European Parliament. and the 6th-most influential on energy policy. EurActiv ranked Duncan as the 15th-most influential politician on energy union in Europe in 2016.
Duncan resigned as an MEP in 2017. He was replaced by
The Baroness Mobarik.
UK Parliament candidate
Duncan was selected by the Scottish Conservatives as their candidate for
Perth and North Perthshire in the
2017 UK general election. He lost to incumbent
Pete Wishart, of the
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
, by 21 votes.
UK Government Minister
After he failed to win the Perth constituency, the
Prime Minister's Office announced in June 2017 that Duncan would be granted a
life peerage
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
and thus become a member of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, in order to take up his appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland and for Wales. On 14 July, he was created Baron Duncan of Springbank, of Springbank in the County of Perth.
Following a reshuffle Duncan was appointed a minister in the
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...
and demitted office in the
Wales Office. He retained his position in the Scotland Office until 2019.
Duncan called out the UK government for failing to stand up for trans people at the
PinkNews Awards 2022.
Personal life
Outside politics, Duncan maintains a keen interest in public speaking. He is the honorary president of
English Speaking Union Scotland, previously serving as Chairman (2014–2017) and Speech & Debates Officer. Duncan is a former
English-Speaking Union US Debating Scholar (1995). He retains links to academia, acting as an advisor to
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
' Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research. Duncan is a fellow of the
Geological Society.
In 2014, Duncan was appointed to the board of advisers of the Schwarzenegger Institute at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, established by former California governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
.
He serves as President of the
Northern Ireland Conservatives since his election to the role in 2022. He is also a patron of
LGBT+ Conservatives and is openly gay.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Ian
1973 births
Living people
Nobility from Perth and Kinross
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
BP people
British charity and campaign group workers
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Scottish gay politicians
LGBTQ life peers
LGBTQ MEPs for the United Kingdom
MEPs for Scotland 2014–2019
Scottish Conservative MEPs
Scottish Conservative parliamentary candidates